


liminal spaces

by StrawberrySpring



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 04:18:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17800916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawberrySpring/pseuds/StrawberrySpring
Summary: Light Yagami is a 22-year-old who comes across an advertisement promising to help him with his loneliness by setting him up with a 'friend' who will be assigned to him according to his personality. Except, the friend is not really real, and he doesn't seem to match his personality as Light had expected him to.A lot of flashbacks.





	1. Chapter 1

‘I’m sad’, Light whispered, as they lay on the bed after a particularly rigorous round of sex. 

‘Hmm’. L’s eyes were closed and he was breathing as if he were already asleep, although Light knew he wasn’t. _Hmm._ Hmm, that’s all he had to say? Hmm?

‘L’, Light sat up. He was sad and L wasn’t paying any attention. He was supposed to be all over him, looking at him with concern, running his fingers through his hair maybe, asking him to ‘talk’, _what happened Light what is the matter, you can tell me anything_

‘L’, Light repeated. ‘I am sad and I need to talk.’ 

L finally opened his eyes. The only light coming into the room was from the bathroom. It fell diagonally across L’s face, illuminating some of his face, leaving the rest in shadows. 

‘What is making you sad, Light?’ L asked, as if given a cue card to read from. He didn’t sound annoyed, or frustrated, but he didn’t sound too concerned either. 

Light opened his mouth, only to close it after a second. Then he opened it again. 

‘I don’t know’, he whispered, and realized, to his horror, that his voice was choking. He blinked, hoping the sheer force of will would keep the sudden tears at bay. 

L sighed. ‘Come here, Light’, he said, extending his arm on the pillow where Light’s head rested before. 

Light lay back down.


	2. first conversation

‘You don’t like parties?’ 

‘Not really my thing.’

‘Yeah, me neither.’

L turned to look at him, a faint smile on his face. ‘That’s not true.’

Light raised his brows in surprise. ‘What’s not true?’

‘That you don’t like parties.’ 

Light frowned. It was kind of chilly here. The party inside was loud and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Light had spotted L leaving the room to sneak out to the fire escape a while ago. He had followed, once he had shrugged Misa Amane off his shoulder. 

He had never really talked to L before, other than exchanging pleasantries, all of which Light had initiated. 

‘No, I really don’t…’ Light muttered. 

‘Why did you throw one then?’ L was leaning against the railing, standing directly opposite Light. He looked like a ghost. Light wanted to touch him to check if he was real. 

‘I wanted to talk to you.’ 

There was a flicker of surprise on L's face. ‘You threw a party to talk to me?’ 

‘Yes’. Light did not fully believe himself but he wanted to test and see what happened if he continued. It was like an inside joke with himself. ‘Does that bother you?’

L looked thoughtful. ‘Not really’, he conceded. ‘Once a guy almost burned himself to death to talk to me.’ 

Light had no idea whether this was one of _L’s_ inside jokes, but to be honest he didn’t care much. ‘You have to tell me that story.’ 

L chuckled. ‘Okay.’ Light chuckled as well. 

‘G’night’, he said, turning around to climb back inside through the window. 

The noise coming from the party had been only slightly muted outside, but the sound of the city and honking cars had more than made up for it. Long after L had left, Light realized how he had felt outside standing on the fire escape. He had felt at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are love :)


	3. the discovery

When Light had first read the advertisement, he had understandably thought of it as a joke, or a sham. It had _felt_ genuine, though and Light had been tempted to call the number. 

_**‘Lonely? Sad? Wish you had someone to talk to but cannot handle your therapist’s sugar-coated lies? Wish you could meet someone who could match your quirks and qualities? Wish you could craft your own love story without the added baggage of life interfering? Well, now you can. This is not a dating app, or a friendship app. For more information, call _____’** _

The first few times Light had spotted the ad in the newspaper, he had ignored it like the rational human being he was. A few days later, a black and white pamphlet was thrust into his hands at the local grocery store by a middle-aged woman. It had the same message, except this time it also had an address. He had ignored it again. 

 

‘So you aren’t coming home for Christmas as well?’ He could sense Sayu’s disappointment even through the phone. 

‘No, I’m sorry I’m really busy with university work…’ 

‘You’re always busy with university work. Is it really that hard? You seem to be doing fine on your exams, mom told me’, Sayu pressed. Light sighed. 

‘Yeah Sayu, it really is that hard’, he lied, although he wasn’t sure if Sayu would believe him, ‘Not everyone is as uninterested in studying as you are’, he teased, hoping to lighten up the conversation. 

‘Fuck you, brother.’ 

‘Language’, he admonished. She giggled. 

‘Okay fine’, he heard her exhale. ‘But we’ll skype on 25th okay? Even if you are busy hanging out with your college friends or girlfriends or whatever.’ 

‘Okay, sure. I’m hanging up now, good night. Say hi to mom and dad.’ 

 

It was a week later when Light saw an advertisement again. He had fallen asleep on his couch during a movie and had woken up around 1 am. Rubbing at his eyes, he squinted at the TV screen, which showed two women deep in conversation. That was when he had first saw Rem. 

‘So, to most of our viewers, this might sound unrealistic or maybe even a ploy to take their money? What’d you like to say to them, Rem?’

The woman called Rem had looked to be in her late forties, maybe fifties. Her hair was a deep purple, and unlike her younger counterpart, she had a very _unsmiling_ face. 

‘We’ve had a lot of satisfied customers who were initially hesitant about trying this out. We are ready to return their money within a week if it doesn’t work out for them. But if it does work out, this will be the best investment you can make for your mental health and social life.’ 

Light had continued watching for another hour. He wanted to tell himself that this wasn’t targeted for people like him – this was for sad, lonely men and women well past their 40s who had no hopes of getting married and no social life. It wasn’t for 22-year-old prodigies like him who had the charm and skills to date whoever he wanted and who regularly got invited to parties and who was fairly well-liked by his teachers and whose parents and sister were proud of him. But there was one thing that caught his attention and what finally made him call the number and ask for an appointment. 

_‘Wish you could meet someone who could match your quirks and qualities? Someone like you?’_

**Author's Note:**

> Changed the summary :)


End file.
